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After 55 months of labor, I'm so happy to welcome my newest bundle of joy:
A Matter of Heart officially released last Tuesday, May 12th. It was pretty much like giving birth to a baby but without the epidural.
I was having pains all morning. My stomach hurt and I hadn't been able to sleep much in days. I was in a bit of a stupor just wanting it to be over, hoping it would go well, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much, hoping for no complications.
OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating the drama a little. After all, a book launch party isn't life and death. But on the other hand, I was introducing my book baby to a whole audience of people who would soon hold my baby. They would be able to look it over, head to toe, and would they find flaws? Well, just in case they did, I was prepared with a distraction.
As it turned out, it was an amazing night. The party was at Changing Hands Bookstore, one of the coolest independent bookstores anywhere. Brandi Stewart, the amazing bookseller, had lots of books on hand, all spread out in a—yes, you guessed it— heart shape. :-)
A wonderful group of people turned out. Friends, family, book lovers...an old teacher of mine from high school who saw the announcement in the paper. Wow.
Best of all, I got to share the spotlight with Sharon Bates, founder of the Anthony Bates Foundation. (For those of you who don't know this already, A Matter of Heart features a character with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a heart … [Read more...]

I'm just going to blurt out my news because I'm so excited: Delacorte is going to publish my next young adult novel! (Imagine a dancing smiling face here. I REALLY need to learn how to insert emoticons.) The title:
DIE FOR YOU
It's a little different from my other books. Edgier maybe. More tragic. More.... Well, you can let me know what you think once it comes out in Fall of 2016. Here's the official announcement from Publisher's Weekly:
Krista Vitola at Delacorte has acquired Amy Fellner Dominy's latest YA novel, Die for You, about 17-year-old Emma Lorde, whose beloved may do more than just steal her heart when Emma is offered an internship in Rome.
I'm thrilled because I'll get to keep working with the same amazing, talented, dedicated people at Delacorte and Random House who are bringing A MATTER OF HEART to the world in just two more months. (May 12th, to be exact!)
So, that's my news. And why I'm feeling very goosebumpy these days. Reality will strike when it's time to start writing the next book and my usual fears and worries will retake control of my stomach. But for now it's time to celebrate.
Thanks for being a friend...a fan...a reader...(or even just a human being who stumbled onto this).
:-) … [Read more...]

This is one of the most exciting parts of the whole process for me: Seeing the cover design of my new book!
It's kind of a crazy thing when you think about it. I wrote the book, imagined the characters and the setting and each moment as it plays out. But the image that defines the book, that graces the cover and will likely be the first thing people see—that comes from the mind and the heart of someone else.
What will it be? Will I like it?
It's exciting and nerve-wracking and stressful and magical. In this case, mostly magical. Because somehow the designer has created a cover that is nothing like I imagined but exactly right. And that tagline...it's perfect. I didn't write it but I wish I had.
The cover is being revealed today on Gae Polisner's blog where I'm guest hosting a post for Teachers Write! (If you don't know what that is, it's an amazing summer program that educates educators on writing. Teachers Write! is spearheaded by Kate Messner, Gae Polisner and a wonderful lineup of authors—you can find them on Facebook here.) I wanted to share the cover on my page, as well, for all of you. So, without further ado: the front cover for A Matter of Heart coming from Random House/Delacorte on May 12, 2015. So, what do you think? Can you feel yourself reaching for it on the shelf....
:-) … [Read more...]

I'm so excited to announce my new book deal:
A MATTER OF HEART
will be published Spring, 2015
by Random House/Delacorte.
Here's the write up in Publishers Weekly:
Krista Vitola at Delacorte has bought a contemporary YA novel by Amy Dominy, called A Matter of Heart. In the book, 16-year-old Abby is on track to win the state swim championships and qualify for the Olympic trials, when the diagnosis of a deadly heart condition forces Abby to discover who she is without the one thing that has defined her entire life. Publication is planned for spring 2015; Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered the deal.
There was even a picture of me.
I'm not going to lie. Seeing myself in Publishers Weekly is a very cool thing!
A MATTER OF HEART is a story I started a couple of years ago. Inspiration first came when I learned about a young athlete who had attended my kids' high school—and who had died from a heart condition when he was twenty years old. In his honor, his mother created The Anthony Bates Foundation, and the foundation was providing heart tests at the school. I brought my kids to be tested and met Sharon Bates. I'm a mom, I have children who are athletes —how could I not be moved by this family's tragedy? How could I not be affected by the reality of this heart condition that kills adolescents? I knew I had a story to write.
The first draft actually came easier to me than any story before (or since.) From the very beginning, … [Read more...]